Decided to explore the sackman place. Its brilliantly creepy. But this didn't go very well as they are still mega tough. Never mind the 1-2 bullcrap combo of death they can do. Knock me on my arse then then hit me even when I dodge the split second I get up. I found the exits but it looked like a boss was in the distance and I simply didn't have the vials to bother with this. It became obvious I needed to farm yet again. If you need pebbles I'm your man. Vials? Nah. So I bought more and headed to Burgerworth. No point fighting these things that take nearly all my health away with one attack.

There was this really weird thing I cant describe in words. It shot fireballs at me. It was an amazing design but frankly it was pretty gooseberry fool. The top part just clips through all the columns so it looks really silly. The fight itself. Well I just stood behind it and hit it. Also got stuck in its legs a few times. Found the shortcut. The structure of this place was good. The lantern not far from anything because of the shortcut. Went inside........ What. A. Twat. This hunter........ heck. My second attempt went pretty well, until I got 1 hit killed by the massive blue shots of guff. This move=a banana split. Eventually I got him after getting him downstairs and switching to some clothes that might help against magic blue guff. Although obviously the fact he can sword me to death as well was a potential issue. But he fell. "Spoke" to the guy in the chair and this all felt like a boss fight waiting to happen. With only 6 vials left I went back and bought more and then rolled into the water.

Rom. Rom the dicking dipstick. Fight was gooseberry fool for a variety of reasons. I decided early on dealing with the little ones was pointless. It took too long to kill them and all it took was one tap from one and I was stunned and strawberry floated. With blue gooseberry fool coming from everywhere. I decided to switch to my rune with the damage increase but durability increase. Thinking the quicker I can kill Rom the better. But again.......... I was low on vials. I could only afford to buy 4. Of course my echoes were now locked away in the boss room. So off I went to farm. I'm not allowed to sell any of the 6 billion pebbles I've got. Back I went. Slain I was again. I made up my mind locking on in this fight was a stupid idea. Mainly because even if Rom is right in front of you, filling your screen, there is a chance the lock on will pick a spider behind him in the distance. Good work game! I survived his attacks which were regularly taking nearly all my health away. Those massive area attacks that are hard to see. Even if you run they still hit me. I burned through my vials again. I had to farm. Again. At this point I had a massive rant. What a gooseberry fool system the vials are. What an absolute strawberry floating load of shite. The vials ruin this game. I dislike lots of stuff about DS. But it didn't have something as stupid as this in its core design. Its one of the most retarded design choices I've honestly ever seen in a game. So off I went. Farmed again. Honestly depressed as strawberry float with the game. I'd give it one more go. But that go was so crap, as was the one after that I ended up with 3. I just wasn't with it anymore. But on that attempt. I twatted that twat. I had just 2 vials left.

Anyway. The game decided to try and screw me over even more by not letting me go and spend my echoes. Deciding to drop me off not at a lantern. With just 2 vials I decided it was better to leg it back to territory I knew. Only with a hunter now in the way of the lantern at the cathedral. I died. So I went the other way and found a new one.

Spare a thought for those of us who played this at launch and had to put up with unpatched loading times every death Or not being able to store many items so you only had a handful of vials and bullets rather than being able to amass a load like you can now.

I really don't know why you're having so much trouble with the lock on, although I think with Rom it's so crowded in there you're better off not using it much. Some bosses are just like that in this. There's a few in the chalice dungeons that are so much harder if you try to lock on.

Just so you know, Rom is the point many a scrub gave up on the game as it gets notably more difficult from then on, but as you're a veteran of From games you'll just get it one time Edit: missed you got it

Ad7 wrote:Spare a thought for those of us who played this at launch and had to put up with unpatched loading times every death Or not being able to store many items so you only had a handful of vials and bullets rather than being able to amass a load like you can now.

Masterpiece 10/10 experts design much so high score play must you.

Sorry. No one can change my mind. The vials are retarded. Have a couple of attempts at a long health sapping boss fight? GO FARM. It actually punishes you for daring to play well and stay in fights for longer. The thing is its an easy fix. Either always make sure the player starts with full vials or make it so you don't lose the currency to buy them when you die. I think I've had to go farm for all but 2 bosses. One of them being the first. I can only imagine how many times poor thumbgoals has had to if he is now on day 7 of the Shadows of Yarnam.

Ad7 wrote:I really don't know why you're having so much trouble with the lock on

Because its a bit crap and does erratic things? Its not like someone long ago in the past made a game where the player was provided with a visual clue as to what the lock on would do or anything......

I don't remember having to farm much for vials in this game at all, enemies regularly drop them so I ended up with quite a few stored away. If you do need to farm go back to the bridge where you fought the Cleric Beast, the trolls and wolves around there regularly drop 2-3 at a time.

Same here, I had more than enough for the main game. It's only the later chalice dungeons where the harder bosses are where I started running low, and then I'd just do a echo farming run in the lecture hall to buy a load more.

I think Matt just lost a load of them taking damage and dying by the hand of normal enemies like a scrub.

I think Rom was the closest I ever got to giving up on this and one of only a handful of bosses where I had to summon a co-op buddy (the other one from memory being Darkbeast Paarl). The only other time I really came close to quitting was Micolash in NG++ he just kept one shotting me but that's likely because I was piss drunk while trying to fight him.

After the abusive, terrifying and threatening PMs I've been getting from a certain grumpy forumite claiming I'm just being a salty try hard edge lord. This isn't true. I've decided to be far more positive.

I started todays session thinking I'd head back to a place I'd sort of not explored properly earlier. The tiny little "town" bit after the dark bit you fall down. On the way I checked out the door at the top of the Healing Church Workshop. Still locked. The town bit.... didn't find much interesting. Popped over to check on another door I couldn't open (its down the stairs next to the handsome ball and chain man). It was still shut. Dunno if I'm looking for a key or if they are just something I have to open from the other side. Or like that magic door earlier which just opened by itself.

Decided to go back to the sackman hotel. Only it suddenly wouldn't let me. So I was really left with either that weird place or the other weird place. I went for the weird place. Yahar'gul, the Unseen Village. Named Yahar'gul as thats no doubt the sound I'll be making a lot. Oh course I will later discover this is actually the same place as the sackman hotel but for some reason the lantern has been moved and was out of action. I hope they put up signs telling everyone when the work was being done. I see that things come back to life here. I immediately understand this to be the Catacombs in DS. Except rather then being new enemies coming back it was tougher versions of the ones I've seen loads of already. I thought it was great the way they decided to make them EVEN tougher rather then lots of of weaker enemies that respawn like in DS. Top work. Anyway I killed the witches and they stopped coming back until I died and I had to kill them again. This area has some great shortcuts in it. Meaning you can make little steps of progress At some points I had no idea where the witch was though. I think nearly 10 mad ladies were being controlled by one I never found and they ganged up on me suddenly and things went crazy and then lasers happened. I found a lantern. I struggled with the next section a bit. Mainly due to the sneaky placement of a witch (which in the end I decided to just ignore) and then a room in which 3 hunters attacked me. Which seemed totally fair. Its not like one of them could just attack right that moment I dodge another attack or anything. I died. So then I just ran past them and managed to find some other freaky thing to kill and open up some shortcuts. Eventually I unpicked this place. The sackmen had vanished though. I almost missed them......

Now I was able to get out of this building I was treated to a masterclass in making walls in videogames. A couple of the hunters from before had decided to check out the local architecture. One seemed so amazed by it when I hit him he fainted through the floor. Maybe. I'm not sure because there was a wall obscuring my view. I'd also been slowly (probably not that slowly) driven as mad as everyone else in the game. I fought and killed a rice crispy monster. Found another shortcut with a secret. A glowing bath. I then explored to the left only to turn up back where I was and then hit a brick wall. An actual one. The glowing bath had really thrown my understanding of this place out of whack. I found some rice crispy monsters that could spit at me for miles and also posses telescopic vision in all directions. Here I was killed by a rice crispy that used a really tiny quick move but then later would do less damage basically errrrr, rice butting me with most of its body. I was left with little option but to go in the other direction. I spotted a summon doodah. This just told me a boss fight was coming up. But I'd already been playing for a long time. I thought I'd have a peek.....

The One Reborn had been reborn by some witches. I'm going to name him Bob. Bob was ugly. Not his fault I suppose. He had just been reborn after all. No time to put on a tie or do his hair. Might struggle to find nice shoes if I'm honest and bless him he clearly wasn't well and had the gooseberry fools. This section had taught me to kill witches. So I did. They appeared to be shooting Bob with magic. I suspect to help him in some way. At this point I was again treated to an exhibition in From Softwares particular brand of architecture If I hadn't of healed the split second second before Bob patted me on the back I'd have died. Having then killed the witches I went on to Bob himself. In all honesty I knew just looking at him we would be best of friends. He had clear obvious attacks that I could see happening because he was in view at all times and his body clearly not a giant load of pain waiting to just do what it wants. His ability to damage me with projectiles that missed me was really endearing. I love Bob. I died when a load of stuff just fell on me. I went back to dance with Bob again. I died again. This time because my health just fell to zero. Now I know what your going to say. It was his bad case of the runs that did it. But I think if you look carefully you can clearly see Bobs Brown Booze tm appears after. I'd also ran around in his funky fluid early on seemingly ok.

Did some farming. Those wolves have finally decided to stop dropping blood stone gem twin whatsits and give me vials. At last. Made it much quicker. The talking window by the first lantern got smashed up by a beast. Decided to go back to the Forbidden Woods/Forest/Snake Pass DLC. Try and mop up any items I didn't collect. Only ended up finding a new path all the way back to the beginning of the game. So it turned out the lady I didn't trust I shouldn't have trusted I guess. Loads of dead bodies on the way. Seemingly dumped. I suspect I've missed important details in this side story because she was just on a table being mad. Being in the right place at the right time in DS was a pain in the backside for these things to. I've only got 2 NPCs to go back to the Church/Cathedral.

Wish I had a better idea of just what was going on. Anyway. I've got loads of vials stored now so hopefully when I face Bob next I wont have to farm again.......